Carol taught this boy literally everything EXCEPT self-love I stg
by mandaree1
Summary: K.O.'s striving to be the perfect hero leads him to throw himself into his own subconscious.


**Disclaimer: I don't own OK K.O.!**

**Title: Carol taught this boy literally everything EXCEPT self-love I stg**

**Summary: K.O.'s striving to be the perfect hero leads him to throw himself into his own subconscious. **

**Warnings: Spoilers for the new episodes!**

**...**

There's no K.O.-vision in the subconscious. T.K.O. finds he misses it- misses being able to know what day it was, what they were eating that day, what dumb mission Rad's dumb van will take them on. He misses his house. But it's too late now. Now all he can do is wait.

And plot.

And maybe cry a little.

The next time the elevator dings, it surprises him. He'd been sleeping, trying to pass the time away, when the next thing he knew K.O. was calmly walking out of the machine, eyes glued to the floor. Revenge is right at his fingertips. T.K.O. stands and snarls. "Whatsa matter, whelp? Two cookies too many for you?"

K.O. shakes his head- at him, at himself, who even knows anymore. "I don't like what you did to me, T.K.O."

"Back on that again?" he sneers. "I thought you dumped me down here to forget."

"Not the house. _This_." He gestured vaguely to his chest. "I just... I don't feel happy anymore. I should! I've got everything I've ever wanted. I'm a hero! I beat my inner darkness! Why..." K.O. deflated. "Why do I feel so hollow?"

It's almost sad how much K.O. pins on him. Almost. He laughs instead, simply because it'll annoy him. "I didn't do it, you big baby. I can't do much of anything down here." He held a hand up in demonstration. Tiny purple sparklers lit up the air, but no electricity. "Whatever this is, you did it yourself."

K.O. hums and nods. "I'd wondered." The tiny hero leaned on the side of the golden elevator, still hanging wide open. "If you had something to do with it, you'd use it to get out of here and wreck my life."

"Touche."

"Which means that this is on me. This is... something I did." He sighed and tried to run his fingers through his hair. K.O. ran out of arm before he did hair. "Only I could be so selfish as to get my dream and want... I dunno. More? Somethin' else?"

T.K.O. stands and approaches. Part of him is a bit afraid- K.O.'s been so off-kilter ever since the battle for the Plaza, and that was before he willingly tossed him out like trash. But the boy doesn't twitch. Just watches. "Is there a point to this, or are you tryna make me your therapist?"

"Kind of?" he replies- to both, presumably. "I thought turning you away would make me better. Make me a decent person. But I'm just as much of a selfish little kid as I was before. We're _both_ the problem. But, together, we're not."

"I'm not giving you my power again."

"That's not what I meant."

T.K.O. stilled at the quiet resignation. K.O. wasn't supposed to be like this. He was supposed to justify or fight or both. Not just stand there and take it. "...Where are you going with this?"

"I'm bad. And you're bad. And the Bodega deserves perfection." In one smooth movement of his torso, K.O. reached around to slam the top floor button on the elevator with his hand and step away. T.K.O.'s mouth dropped as their one way to salvation closed and lifted aimlessly into the air. Empty. Unimportant.

"What the corn, dude," T.K.O. said finally, as K.O. came to stand beside him in the darkness. "Now no one's piloting us."

"We don't know that for sure," he replied. "Could be P.K.O. Could be someone entirely new. Whoever they are, they'll do a way better job than we ever did. They have to. It's the only way to make all this worth it."

**Author's Note: At the start of the Chip Damage arc, I wrote a little drabble of Enid's 'bad end' so to speak, where she got all glorbed up by Chip Damage. I figured it was only fitting to do one for K.O. too! This is less outside forces and more "K.O.'s internalized feelings of insecurity and uselessness swallow him up so he decides to hard reset the mind while T.K.O. watches on" but hey. The thought is there.**

**-Mandaree1**


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